Baptist Theological Seminaryat Richmond

Online Student – Leslie

Leslie had been helping out with the youth ministry at her church in Richmond, VA for several years when the youth/education minister resigned. Leslie was asked to serve as interim youth minister on a part-time basis while the church searched for a new youth/education minister. Leslie agreed. She felt fairly confident that she could keep things going for a few months until the new minister was hired. Eighteen months later, there was still no new youth/education minister and Leslie was still the interim youth minister. The church decided to look for a full-time youth minister.

When Leslie heard this, she applied for the position as youth minister and was hired. She was so excited. Over the past year and a half, she had sensed that God was leading her to youth ministry. She had also realized that she needed a better theological foundation to deal with the many questions the youth had about the Bible and living as a Christian in today’s world.

Leslie sought advice from her pastor who recommended that she check out BTSR’s Master of Divinity with a concentration in Youth and Student Ministries. Leslie expressed concern that with the irregular work hours of a youth minister, she would have difficulty getting across the city to attend classes. When she found out that there were many online seminary courses she could participate in, even at 1 AM, she decided to apply for admission.